


But I have you to keep me warm

by Tykimr



Category: Edmonton Oilers - Fandom, Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tykimr/pseuds/Tykimr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nuge hates Edmonton winters</p>
            </blockquote>





	But I have you to keep me warm

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a multi-chapter fic, but I gave up after it went nowhere. This is one of my favourite scenes, so i had to post it anyway

Edmonton winters kill him. It’s the northern most city in the NHL and it’s so cold it makes him want to curl up in his bed and never leave. Seriously, they don’t even get the Chinook winds like Calgary. But he’s an Edmontonian now, and he’s learned that these people are resilient. They learn to deal with the unfair hand that weather has dealt them. Life goes on even when it’s 28C below zero. It’s still technically fall, but so far the sky as dumped a shitload of snow on them. Like, it’s not even real snowflakes; it’s the fluffy kind that comes down gracelessly. It’s pretty horrible. And right now his mood is matching the weather.  
Like, who plans to move to Edmonton? “Oh, hey, let’s move to the coldest city on Earth, where only three months of the year there isn’t snow on the ground!” He thinks bitterly.  
The real snowfall of the year comes in late November. It’s evening, and Nuge is watching TV, thinking about whether or not Joel would be finished practice, wishing he was there, when he gets his wish. There’s a frantic knocking at his door. He’s not expecting anyone, so he looks through the peephole to see him. He whips the door open and smiles. Joel has red cheeks, the tip of his ears are blood red and his shoulders are hunched up, still unable to warm up, but he’s smiling widely.  
“Dress up, we’re going out!” he says excitedly.  
“But it’s snowing outside” Nuge complains half-heartedly. He’ll never be able to say no to Joel, but he doesn’t want him to know that.  
“Ex-Zachary! C’mon, before it stops snowing!”  
*  
Turns out, Joel is a freak who loves snow. Seriously, he’s like a kid again when it comes to the stuff. Nuge guesses that, after being exposed to the cold for so long, something inside them snaps and Edmontonians get crazy enough to actually like the weather. From the house to Joel’s car, Nuge already had three snow balls hurled his way. He hastily dodged them, remembering far too well how cold, wet snow felt dripping down his torso when Hallsy thought it would be funny to give frost bite to the rookie. It sucked.  
They get in his car, head down Wayne Gretzky Dr. and pull off right before they hit Rexall Place, into a residential area. Joel parks the car and they both get out.  
“What exactly are we doing?” Nuge asks, not sure where he is or why. Joel had spent the entire ride grinning like a 6-year-old.  
Joel opens his trunk, where he pulls out two sleds.  
“We’re going sledding” he declares.  
And, okay. Nuge hasn’t done this since he was about 11. Climbing up the hill, sweating and panting, was too much work for about 10 seconds of speed, so he’s not too excited.  
*  
For going up and down a hill for two hours, Nuge had a lot of fun. Even when they did wipe out because apparently Nuge can’t steer properly and he ran into Joel, and they violently tumbled down the rest of the hill, laughing all the way down, the fall cushioned by the snow. Nuge isn’t entirely sure how, but he had landed on top of Joel, and as he looked down at him, both of them breathless, Nuge was trying to ignore the freaking boner he was getting, sharing similar grins, he decided it was. Worth it, that is. Even though he lost feeling in his fingers an hour ago.  
“Hi there.” Nuge smiles down on him.  
“Remind me to never let you drive” Joel teases, so naturally Nuge tries to cover his face with snow, which leads to another wrestling match.  
This time Joel is on top, pinning Nuge’s hands above his head. His dark hair is falling in his eyes, and he’s looking at Nuge like he wants to devour him. He looks around, it’s dark, and they’re surrounded by trees, so he leans down and pulls Nuge into a deep kiss. He warms up real quick after that.  
“C’mon, let’s get outta here before your cute little butt gets frost bite.” Joel says as he helps a giggling Nuge up.  
Joel makes him feel like the kid he never was. Free from responsibility, the weight of a city’s pride riding on his shoulders. He makes him feel like the teenager he is. Happy, giddy, special, things he had only felt about his first love, hockey.  
It was pretty late, and normally Nuge would be in bed for morning skate, but spending time with Joel has been steadily climbing on his priority list.  
*  
Afterwards, they cranked up the heater as far as it would go, and drove west. They stopped at a Tim Horton’s for coffee, and then kept driving until the pavement turned into a dirt road. They drove out of Edmonton for about 10 minutes, passing no one.  
“You’re not secretly a Flames fan, and planning on killing me out here, are you?”Nuge asks, a grin on his face.  
Joel throws his head back, laughing.  
“Every teenage girl in Edmonton will want my head on a stake, I’m more afraid of them. You’re practically Justin Bieber around here y’know. You have the same hair as him, too.”  
“He has the same hair as me.” Nuge says as Joel parks on the side of the road. They both get out.  
Outside they’re surrounded by large coniferous trees, dusted with snow. There are fields and fields of untouched snow, the air is so chilling he could physically feel the cold air in his lungs, and there’s a stillness and silence you can only get when all the animals are sleeping for the winter. They walk to the front of the car.  
“Look” Joel whispered, pointing at the dark sky, leaning on the hood of his car.  
Nuge looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. The Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, shone brightly, contrasting with the dark sky. It was majestic, they way it rippled and waved like flowing water. He’s never seen the Northern Lights before, and this, he was not expecting. The colour, a shade of green he’d never seen before, the sheer mass, the movement, everything, was magical. And outside the city lights, he could also see millions of stars. That’s when Nuge, a hot cup of Timmy’s in his hands, real snowflakes dancing around his head, Joel pressing close to him, so close there was a line of warmth between them from their legs to their shoulders, is when Nuge decided he loved Edmonton winters.  
“I’ve always loved the first snow fall of the season. My mother once told me that these nights were so special, magical, that anything you wish for will come true.” Joel says, still admiring the sky. “So make it count.”  
Nuge looks at Joel. They’re so close Nuge can see the reflection of the moon in his deep brown eyes, and he wishes for him. He wishes all his days are full of Joel and happiness. When Joel returns his gaze, the look in his eyes tell Nuge he wished for exactly the same thing.  
Joel places a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth, and although the rest of him has been freezing all night, the place where Joel kissed him feels hot, tingling, and for a second he closes his eyes, because right now the feeling is more spectacular than the view.


End file.
